LUCKNOW: A missing chair managed to do what fog, signals and crowded tracks often do: delay a train. The New Delhi-Lalitgram Vaishali Express was held up at Gorakhpur on Monday morning after train manager Ramashish Das found his guard coach had no designated seat.Already running late when it rolled into Gorakhpur Junction, the Vaishali Express (15566) ended up losing more time as Das sought a seat from railway authorities before continuing his journey.According to official railway data, the train was scheduled to arrive at Gorakhpur at 9.17am but reached at 9.48am, 31 minutes behind schedule. It was supposed to depart at 9.27am but finally pulled out at 10.36am, by which time the delay had stretched to one hour and nine minutes.Das, who took charge of the train at Gorakhpur, discovered that there was no chair in the guard coach. He raised the issue with station authorities and remained with the train at platform number two while officials looked into the matter. He later sent a memo to the station superintendent before proceeding with the train.Speaking to TOI, Das said, “I refused to simply overlook the missing chair because I considered it a safety issue.”He said he photographed the coach and informed railway control officials at Varanasi and Sonpur division before taking the train forward. “Safety comes first,” Das said, adding that a train manager could not be expected to perform a duty lasting more than eight hours without proper seating, particularly on a train travelling at speeds of over 100kmph.Das said the train manager who handed over charge to him at Gorakhpur had apparently travelled in the power car despite the absence of a chair in the guard’s working area. Das, however, insisted that the deficiency be recorded and addressed before he continued.He said “I was conscious that detaining the train could lead to questions over the additional delay, but felt proceeding without raising the issue would leave him responsible if anything went wrong during the journey.”A guard coach serves as the train manager’s operational workspace and normally has a designated working seat or stool, along with a small desk and communication equipment required during the journey.According to Das, no proper seating arrangement was made for him at Gorakhpur. He said railway staff told him an arrangement would be made at Deoria, where a plastic chair was eventually provided. Das said he continued his duty on that chair for the remainder of his journey, which lasted more than eight hours.Das, who said he is around 59 and has about eight months left before retirement, questioned whether a plastic chair was an adequate arrangement for such a long duty. “A train runs at more than 100kmph. Everyone has to take responsibility,” he said.He also recalled an earlier incident at Gorakhpur several years ago when he had held up a train after finding that the required fire extinguisher was missing. Das said railway staff had then asked him to take the train onward in the “same condition”, but he declined, arguing that responsibility would ultimately fall on him if an accident occurred en route.The lost minutes, meanwhile, stayed firmly on board.Railway data showed the train reached Deoria Sadar 82 minutes late. It subsequently arrived at Siwan 74 minutes behind schedule, Chhapra 67 minutes late, Sonpur 77 minutes late and Muzaffarpur 78 minutes late. The delay widened further later in the journey.NER chief public relations officer Sumit Kumar informed TOI, that “ECR has been conveyed officially to look into the matter and take up.”Another NER official said a seat is normally provided in the train manager’s coach and, if it is missing, the Carriage and Wagon department is responsible for providing one. In this case, arrangements were made at Deoria station.
